Exploring the relevance of scents in human life and the nuances of olfactory perception. Scented Life Scents 2024 In the context of human life and the importance that smells have to our evolution, I have designed four fragrances that gathered four pivotal olfactory moments from our past, each holding profound significance for our vital state and celebrating our body odour. Human Ancestors (Sulfuric ocean) The first fragrance is sulfuric and oceanic. Sulphur, reminiscent of the scent of rotten eggs, is a primordial element of interstellar space and an outcome of our planet’s geology. Although harmful to humans when inhaled or ingested, is present today, in small amounts, in the food we eat and within our bodies. The smell of sulfur, notably in the sea, is attributed to Dimethyl sulphide (DMS), the most abundant molecule emitted by aquatic life and the heart of the sea’s smell - an aroma of truffles and fresh algae, intertwined with the essence of life and death. The undersea vents are abundant in sulfides and the first forms of life lived around them, in extreme environments on early Earth. These vents nurture resilient extremophiles, microbes adapted to endure intense conditions, who thrived because they learned to source energy from sulphur and developed a symbiosis with other microbes that mutually recharge each other’s energy sources. These biochemical systems that may have been part of life’s boiling beginning, persist even today, in microbes coexisting inside of us. Into the Ovum (Buttery semen) Another crucial moment of human life reveals a secret that takes us back to our beginning. The capability to “smell” extends beyond our noses, spermatozoas, an integral part of semen, have olfactory receptors that allow them to navigate toward the female ovum and create the embryo. The vagina has a microbial community, like lactic acid bacteria, that produce cheesy, butyric, and vinegar volatiles, besides the characteristic metallic and fishy odours. The scent of semen is intriguingly tied to cadavers and death, when semen is inside the body, microbes can not proliferate and change its faint smell, however, when exposure to the air, the spermatozoa die and form putrescine, pyrroline, and cadaverine, which is found in animal death. Putrescine is a foundational element for larger molecules, spermidine and spermine, packed within spermatozoa to help the delivery of male genes to the ovum, and they are also critical for ensuring the proper functioning of DNA and RNA. When in contact with the air, these molecules, and putrescine, create pyrroline, which gives off the smell of semen and is an olfactory reminiscent of the innermost agents at work within our bodies. NOURISHING (Sulfuric cheese and caramelized fruit) Breast milk nourishes newborn mammals and its smells can range from caramel and coconut to butyric and sulfuric tones. The ability, that babies have to find the mother's milk might be linked to the presence of Dimethyl sulphide (DMS) inside the body, an animal-sulfuric volatile also found in saltwater creatures. DMS is found both in the amniotic fluid, released in the womb by microbes in the birth canal, and in the colostrum , when milk encounters bacteria on the mother’s skin or in the infant’s mouth. These benign bacteria, which help us suppress and defend against harmful microbes metabolise the sugar milk and form all kinds of smells: sulphuric from sulfides and thiols; vinegar-like odours from acetic acids; buttery and cheesy odour from diacetyl and butyric acid; and delightfully fruitiness, sweet-coconut odours and caramel qualities from lactones and furanones. The common association of vanilla with breast milk stems not from vanilla itself but from maltol, a compound reminiscent of caramel, praline, and vanilla. Another factor that contributes to the association of vanilla with milk is the fact that any ingredient with vanilla ingested by the mother quickly passes into her milk, which further enriches the sensory experience for the baby. Maternal Love (Oceanic butter) The last crucial moment has to do with the sweet fragrance of newborn babies that contributes to their overall cuteness power, a set of stimuli that quickly awakens the attention of others and creates an emotional bond with the baby. The top of their heads, in particular, emits a delightful scent reminiscent of creamy vanilla-like cheese coupled with an undertone akin to a watermelon ocean. While there is limited research on this subject, it is widely believed that the unique fragrance associated with newborns is attributed to the presence of vernix caseosa (a cheesy varnish), this white waxy coating protects the baby’s skin in utero, retaining moisture and acts as a lubricant during the journey through the birth canal, shielding the infant from vaginal bacteria, and aiding in temperature regulation. Following birth, vernix caseosa continues to play a role in helping the baby’s skin adapt to the external environment, although it is typically washed off after approximately 24 hours, traces of the scent may linger on the baby’s hair and skin for a more extended period, contributing to the delightfull odour of newborn babies.

Caetano Mendes Dias is an interdisciplinary research-based designer, investigating the communication of the Osmocosm and ecological challenges in the discipline of design today.

"No matter where I came from, I say, no matter where I go, to me what matters is where I am on this day" Sea Day 2022 "A short film statement about how I wish to see myself in the future within the design field. A critical point of view towards my frenetic life, filled with information and so little knowledge. A wish for a future with more conversations/discussions and less writing, a future with less art, and fewer books, as in, fewer artefacts, as in, fewer human footprints (especially the footprints that covered the minorities and marginalised). I speak about a future without a human history to a certain extent. A future without physical memories. I admire the future where true knowledge is passed away through our genes, from generation to generation. The moment when the only human (arte)fact, is the humans themselves, no technology besides the human body. Our bodies are already a beautiful and complex limited archive of our ancestor's knowledge . It is in our hasty need, such as this one, to print our thoughts and actions in the world that we fail in saving ourselves from extinction." Brief reflection.

Why do we need more? More stories? Why? I would rather don’t tell the stories about why I don’t want more stories but that’s another story. The Empty Story 2022 This performance and manifesto questions the constant need to create more and tell more. Poem I should ask myself why am I writing this? Is this just one more story to fill in the agenda? Why do we need more? More stories? Why? Embrace the law of noncontradiction I contradict my ideas to tell you more about them There are to many stores being told at the same time all the time And so many empty hearts waiting to be filled with hope I hope there is still meaning behind image I wonder it is there a real story lo De colar Why do we immediately try to kill? - Fling freely in our" houses. Why don't we allow ourselves to be bitten by them? We are afraid of them We don't understand them We don't see them We don't have empathy for them. We were so afraid of dying that we killed all the rest And our desire to achieve eternity lidded us to a "broken" (Eco)system. But isn't dying giving space to new life possibilities? Whenever something dies another born What is death for someone is life for others. I want to show the invisible world Allow new stories to be told Give more space to the others To our family To us We embrace the moth in "our" houses The carpet beetle larvae The silverfish The woodlice Give space to the insects To the larvae I give a woolen web where they can tell their story A non-human story The power of not doing Not saying Not telling Not moving Not breathing Not living. "Speech is silver, silence is golden" Why do we need more? More stories? Why? I would rather don’t tell the stories about why I don’t want more stories but that’s another story. We live in a reality, or shall I say hipper reality, where there are so many stories being told at the same time all the time that our minds become torpid and empty by them. The information runs like a waterfall, and we are passively sitting by the river looking at the overwhelming waterfall. There is no real story, only some futile images to fill the empty space. The system is messed up, the content doesn’t really matter, the dynamics behind the cultural institutions will keep the same no matters what we are trying to tell because the public only wants to see some nice images and have fun, our stories will not change the way things work but will just be another project amount the others to filling in the agenda. Furthermore, our impact in the world had become so big that we are even moving to a new geological epoch because of that. We were so afraid of died or suffering because of it, that we “kill” all the other species instead. Our will to live longer, the need to be healthier and the desire to achieve eternity lidded us to a “broken” (eco)system. When we see a mosquito fling freely in “our” houses, we immediately try to kill them, we don’t want to be bitten by them, we are afraid of them, we don’t understand them, we don’t see them, we don’t have empathy for them. Why don’t we allow ourselves to be bitten by mosquitos? Even if is painful or even, in some cases, we would die, what would be the problem? Shouldn’t we die at some point anyway? If you want, we could say whenever someone dies another born, this means when we die, we give space to new life possibilities. The power of not doing, not saying, not telling, not moving, not breathing, not living. The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) born in the second half of the 20th century believes that by extinguish our specie (suicide) we could fight clime change (give space to new species/things). It can seem a joke or unsettling but is very beautiful, death is as beautiful as life because what is death for someone is life for others. To conclude my story, I “won’t” tell stories in order to allow new stories to be told, non- human stories, stories about fungi eating our bodies and transforming us back into soil.

INSPIRE ME is a project about the history of Douglas Firs trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and their relation with our surroundings. Inspire Me 2023 This research project is about the scent of Douglas Firs trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and its ecological impact on the biodiversity of the Netherlands. The project looks at the interspecies relationships with these trees and reflects on our current understanding of “nature” and natural spaces. INSPIRE ME is a project about the history of Douglas Firs trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and their relation with our surroundings. Douglas Firs makes part of the big group of gymnosperms trees, each has existed long before the earth knew its current continents. Like in many other conifer trees, the Douglas Firs have a strong scent resembling grapefruit and mandarins blended with pine, and sweet passionfruit notes (or as others may do as well think, the smell of Christmas trees). But actually what we perceive as smell, are, in fact, the VOCs (volatile organic compounds), a group of chemical compounds realized by plants that work as a self-defensive mechanism against other species, either by repelling or attracting them. Humans may perceive VOCs as simple smells, but other species, like insects and fungi, have chemical receptors that detect these compounds to help them navigate and find shelter or food sources. Douglas firs are not native from the Netherlands, they were brought from the east coast of North America, in the 19th century, because of their economic value, and now they can be found everywhere in the Netherlands. Along with this tree, insects and fungi were attracted by their VOCs and learned to live in the Netherlands, creating new relationships. By bringing an exotic species to the Netherlands, we (multiple species) change their biodiversity, even if on a small scale, and new relations are built, such as parasitic or symbiotic relationships. This phenomena, partly caused by humans, and partly caused by trees and other species became hard to be categorized as natural or artificial since they are the result of an interspecies interaction. This shows how impossible it is to disconnect us from nature because it is part of our existence. Instead of trying to label the world we should care and preserve it. Photo by Sabrina Voice-over: Solveig Weimar

- Philanthrosmia 2024 Why should we care more about our body odor? Philanthrosmia, is a neologism, meaning: the care for body odors (philo- love, anthro- human, osmia- smell), and gives name to a series of Body Odor Tastings, where all the participants can discuss the taboos related to body odors, while enjoying them in their food. Being able to accept our body odors as they require a lot of courage and time, as we have been pressured by social restrictions and prejudices to smell a certain way. The aesthetic construction of body odor is biased and it was built upon a colonial and racist past, where certain communities were deemed to smell worse than others due to their difference. Body odors play an important role in our lives, and our ancestors knew it better than we do for they used it to communicate with each other. Nowadays it is not so acceptable, to sniff one another in public, but could we still be implying our curiosity about body smells by enjoying their encounter in our food? During the Body Odor Tastings, all participants are invited to experience courses with whiffs of body odors, and the participants can compose a dish that recreates a body odor of their choice. Philansthrosmia creates a space for debunking olfactory-related body issues and in a broader sense, fosters more interest and awareness towards the sense of smell. This project had the help and support of Jurjen van Nes and the DAE community Experimental Grant.

A short movie that tries to picture Caetano's mindset. The images were collected at Praia do Sul, his childhood beach, where he used to spend his long summer days. Praia do Sul 2021 A short movie that tries to picture Caetano's mindset. The images were collected at Praia do Sul, his childhood beach, where he used to spend his long summer days, shaping his thoughts together with the grains of sand and the soothing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

A digital representation of a dream place. A world of eternal inner peace, where lovers dance freely and bless each other with juicy fruits and fortune. Locus Amoenus 2023 A digital representation of a dream place. A world of eternal inner peace, where lovers dance freely and bless each other with juicy fruits and fortune. Music: Proteus - A Nineteenth Century Vision by Yuval Ron

The scents of five different extermination methods used on Japanese knotweed: uprooting, freezing, electrocuting, the use of herbicides and letting Tamworth pigs eat it. Aromas of Extermination 202 3 Aromas of Extermination is an olfactory installation developed as part of the Japanese Knotweed Festival at Mediamatic in Amsterdam, created in collaboration with Frank Bloem and Rachel Barfield. This project invited audiences to engage with Japanese knotweed, a plant frequently labelled as invasive, through the visceral experience of scent. During the festival’s opening symposium, each talk began with a different scent representing common methods for knotweed extermination: uprooting, freezing, electrocution, applying herbicides, and feeding it to Tamworth pigs. By diffusing these distinctive odours, Odours of Extermination provided a sensory narrative that questioned the extent to which humans attempt to control a plant simply trying to survive. As part of the festival, participants foraged knotweed around Amsterdam, gathering it to be used in meals and creative experiences throughout the event. Rather than framing knotweed solely as an ecological threat, the festival fostered a more empathetic view, reflecting on the plant’s colonial history of introduction and its resilience in adapting to human-shaped environments.

DEEP BREATH is a scent which transports us to the deep sea and reminds us that, whether we are humans or extremophiles, having a nose or a chemoreceptor, we are interconnected with all forms of life on this planet. Deep breath research Chemosynthetic bacteria Hydrothermal vents Deep Breath scent Origins of olfaction Sources Deep breath scent Dive into the boiling deep dark sea. Deep Breath is an aquatic fragrance with a flitting sulfuric note from the bottom of the ocean, immersed in a marine ozone heart that lingers a pacific and soothing fresh sea at the base. The main ingredient of the Deep Breath is the most abundant molecule in the sea, emitted into the air by aquatic life, Dimethyl sulfide, or DMS. Dimethyl sulfide is at the heart of the sea’s smell. And it’s there as a byproduct of the mechanism that algae evolved to deal with the saltiness of seawater. DMS resembles another sulfuric molecule, a simpler molecule called hydrogen sulfide, which is the key ingredient that sustains life under the sea in the hydrothermal vents, where life might have started. Sulfuric molecules might even be just a few of several elements that played an important role in life’s boiling beginnings, but they were prominent enough to mark some of the oldest rocks thought to carry traces of biological metabolism. Deep Breath is a journey through the evolution of life and it shows how what might be toxic for us now was once central to our lives. It goes from the depths of the ancient sea, where rocks came to life to the surface of the water of our present days.

Exploring the relevance of scents in human life and the nuances of olfactory perception. Deep breath research Chemosynthetic bacteria Hydrothermal vents Deep Breath scent Origins of olfaction Sources Be aware that this research is not scientific or universally true, but rather a compendium of ideas and views that can possibly estimate fantasies. Video courtesy of Ocean Observatories Initiative. (2024) Galibert F, Azzouzi N. Are the Olfactory Receptors Present at the Sperm Membrane Involved in Reproduction? Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 10;24(14):11277. doi: 10.3390/ijms241411277. PMID: 37511035; PMCID: PMC10379156. McGee, H. (2020). Nose dive: a field guide to the world’s smells. New York, Penguin Press. Ghos, P. Ghosh (2017). Earliest evidence of life on Earth 'found'. Science correspondent, BBC News. Drake, N. (2017). This May Be the Oldest Known Sign of Life on Earth. science article, National Geographic. Pluznick J. (2016). You smell with your body, not just your nose Dodd MS, Papineau D, Grenne T, Slack JF, Rittner M, Pirajno F, O'Neil J, Little CT. Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates. Nature. 2017 Mar 1;543(7643):60-64. doi: 10.1038/nature21377. PMID: 28252057. Image courtesy of Submarine Ring of Fire 2006 Exploration, NOAA Vents Program Martin W, Russell MJ. On the origins of cells: a hypothesis for the evolutionary transitions from abiotic geochemistry to chemoautotrophic prokaryotes, and from prokaryotes to nucleated cells. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2003 Jan 29;358(1429):59-83; discussion 83-5. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1183. PMID: 12594918; PMCID: PMC1693102. Huber REder W, Heldwein S, Wanner G, Huber H, Rachel R, Stetter KO.1998.Thermocrinis ruber gen. nov., sp. nov., a Pink-Filament-Forming Hyperthermophilic Bacterium Isolated from Yellowstone National Park. Appl Environ Microbiol64:.https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.64.10.3576-3583.1998

Exploring the relevance of scents in human life and the nuances of olfactory perception. Scented Life Sounds 2024 This sound piece, composed by the talented musician Margarida Alves Gato and I, is the translation of four fragrances . The composition considers the complexity and difficulty of describing odours through words and seeks different ways of communicating olfactory impressions, one way less imbued in cultural constraints and another that acknowledges our cultural biases. Olfactory experiences seem to have many crossmodal associations with hearing, for example, people often link bass sounds to base notes (resins), and tremble sounds to top notes (citrus), these enigmatic interplay between sounds and smells has intrigued researchers for quite some time and remains unexplained still. These crossmodal associations are shaped by a variety of factors, each providing different insights into different associations, but it's essential to note they are not merely metaphorical or arbitrary and go beyond subjective judgment. With this in mind, the sound piece was composed by using two translation methods: The first method attempts to develop a language independent of our cultural background and speculates upon the Vibrational Theory of Luca Turin. Considering Luca Turin's theory is correct and that we can perceive odorant molecules due to their molecular vibration, I took the molecular vibration of the raw materials that make up the four fragrances and converted them into audible sine waves. Hear below the sound waves of the raw materials used in the composition of the fragrances. The second method takes into consideration the enigmatic crossmodal association between sound and smell and embraces our biases and cultural belief systems as a means to acknowledge the complexity of describing odours. In collaboration with Margardia Alves Gato, we have translated our subjective and unique impressions of the four fragrances into sounds, taking different instruments, timbres, rhythms and melodies. I leave open the question of whether some of the associations that Margarida and I had could be universal to all cultures or whether they are restricted to our Western cultures, unfortunately, the major and predominant culture in odour description nowadays. The complex final sound piece is a combination of the two methods and pictures an overall impression of the odours. Leaving space for a more methodological and scientific alternative and a more subjective and emotional approach.